Building a CRT-Style Portable Raspberry Pi Enclosure

Hi I am Salim and today we'll design and build a retro inspired all-in-one enclosure for the Raspberry Pi let's get to it in the recent months the Raspberry Pi boards have become very difficult to find mostly because of the everlasting chip shortage and various supply chain issues it got so bad that someone made the website to track stock as you can see most places are out at the time of this recording so instead of paying 400% markup to price gougers I decided to build an all-in-one enclosure to get the most out of the pies I already have first let's pick some parts and define few features because of the aesthetic Direction I'm going for I need a 4x3 display that's why I picked this 8 inch IPS panel the resolution on it is good enough for me also to consider adding a HDMI switcher and use the screen with other devices as well I want to have a fully portable system if needed so for power I'll be trying the PI UP Time uninterrupted power supply this device accepts two lithium ion 18650 cells and has onboard voltage monitoring and some protection features I plan on building all kinds of contraptions in this enclosure so for good measure I will include this low profile ice tower to cool down the pies properly [Music] I picked a specific display driver because it has an audio amp on board we'll be able to add a tiny speaker and maybe extend the audio jack as well I'll get into that later in the video this might seem odd but I want to include the standard tripod mount and a vesa compatible pattern to have options when it comes to mounting I started by modeling the screen to design around it because it's the largest component in the build once that was done I tried to find a good balance between the main bezel control panel and the back shell proportions most of the aesthetic choices I made are inspired from these retro CRTs the old Macintosh and some of the amazing cyber deck builds I've seen recently I plan on grouping and relocating all the controls on a custom PCB I think that it will yield a better look and will keep the build way less janky I defined the geometry allowed for the controls in this section in the model so I can simply use the projection to create a 3D PCB then push the outline to a 2D board file and add the schematic to link up everything under the same electronic design the buttons from the screen interface are straightforward momentary switches but on the HDMI switcher I have this latching kind with 6 pins using a multimeter I confirmed that this is in fact a double pole double throw switch that toggles the signals from the middle input pins to one of two possible positions I went on Digikey and found these cool retro looking buttons with both configurations I need they seem to have the same feel you would find in old hardware and by adding the corresponding caps I can get pretty close to the look I'm after I also found these tiny speakers in a shape that could work in the remaining space I downloaded all the data sheets for the replacement components and put them together in simple schematic [Music] up to this point everything was going great but I still haven't figured out a good way to make a faceplate for the control panel I was planning initially to just apply a sticker on a 3D printed plate then I realized I'm already making a PCB so why not use that and make another one for the faceplate to take full advantage of the manufacturing capabilities using the measurements in the mechanical drawings and the projection I made from the model I put together a quick prototype in Adobe Illustrator for the appearance and position of all the components once I was happy with the result I translated all those positions and shapes in the boards based in Fusion for both of the pcbs I also made this little adapter board to have some options to break out power either to do UPS or directly to the buy-in screen that's it for the pcbs I bundled and sent the Gerbers my friends at PCB way they kindly offered to make the boards for this project if you dabble or Tinker with electronics at all you should definitely check out PCB way aside from producing super high quality pcbs they have bunch of other services like 3D printing CNC Machining assembly and much more their two layer boards that are only five dollars which is really affordable and make these kinds of projects possible if you want to get a coupon for five dollars for a first order use my affiliate Link in the description below thank you PCB way for sponsoring this portion of the video with the main Electronics taken care of I went ahead and finished the rest of the model and here's what it looks like there are three main components the main bezel the bottom plate and the back shell that encloses the entire thing with these four thumb screws I found these tiny little pull handles on McMaster Car and I think that they really fit the aesthetic if you don't want to get these metal ones you can either 3D print them or simply use only the screws the same goes for the heated inserts I added them everywhere but some of them are totally optional that's it for the first iteration it's time to get started on printing [Music] it was a very long print but the parts came out okay since I will be staring at this all the time I wanted to have a better surface finish if I could and honestly I've been looking for an excuse to try those prop finishing techniques I've seen other makers do I watched some videos to get familiar with the process and I felt pretty I can give it a go normally I would go outside for this kind of work because it's super messy but at this time of the year it's just not going to be possible it was time for me to grab few tools and head down to my local maker space to work there [Music] I started by sanding all the visible surfaces with 230 grit to knock down the layer lines before adding on material to help hide the more obvious and bigger defects I'll be using this glazing putty sort of a body filler that dries up fast and supposed to be easily sandable [Music] once it dried I went over it with 230 again and then 320 to refine the surface further things went a little wrong you just shattered this vents completely it's not a big deal though I will fix it later let's just keep going and make this a future me problem for now foreign a quick wipe with some isopropyl to clean the debris and dust and it was ready for primer [Music] I know it looks like a lot of work but I can really see why you would go to so much trouble I stopped around 600 grit though it was simply not worth it for me to go further for this one [Music] I fixed that minor accident I had by gluing another replacement part and it was time for me to finally paint [Music] I left the paint to dry and went back to the bench for the meantime at this point I received all the remaining parts hardware and pcbs and I can start putting things together [Music] I went back to check on the paint after 24 hours then apply the clear coat as well it turned out really not too bad for a first try I mean it's not a perfect paint job and I managed to get dust and scratches in a few places but I'm still very happy with the result I have way more insight and Clarity when I attempt this again in the future [Music] I just realized that I ordered protected cells it's clearly stated here that they won't fit in this holder so I had to wait a couple more days for the correct ones to show up not yet [Music] the minor software configuration is needed for the shutdown button and to monitor voltage I will leave all those details in the write-up if you're interested it's finally ready it took so much more time than I thought but it's finally done and I'm so excited to share it with you let's take a look at the final result thank you [Music] [Music] is it perfect, NO but it was a huge learning experience for me and a lot of fun to figure out I made a lot of mistakes and there is a long list of improvements if I ever build another one I'm sure you guys will come up with all sorts of suggestions so I left the files and resources in the description if you ever want to make one yourself please let me know what you think in the comments below thank you so much for watching and I will see you in the next one

Pi _Terminal is an all-in-one portable enclosure for the Raspberry Pi 4, featuring a 8 inch IPS screen, a low profile ice tower cooler, a UPS using two rechargeable batteries and a HDMI switcher to use the display on it's own as a monitor. 👋 Follow me → https://linktr.ee/salimbenbouz Get $5 New User Credit at PCB Way → https://pcbway.com/g/TC4KGU _______________________ ⚡️ Project links: Github: https://github.com/sb-ocr/pi-terminal Instructables: https://geni.us/AJFKAbA Thingiverse: https://geni.us/0A8Dh _______________________ ⚙️ Bambu Lab 3D Printers: Bambu Lab A1 https://bit.ly/4gwNFhK Bambu Lab P1S-Combo https://bit.ly/3VW4QBg Bambu Lab X1-Carbon https://bit.ly/3VTKfxx Bambu Filaments https://bit.ly/41RpVRe 🛠 Tools: Autodesk Fusion 360: https://bit.ly/49dQyQN Soldering station: https://geni.us/16zcw5 PEI build plate: https://geni.us/9K0md iFixit Driver Kit: https://geni.us/pE8dvKd Magnetic Helping Hand: https://geni.us/qmbA3W Digital Microscope: https://geni.us/OvfXE Oscilloscope: https://geni.us/rHzAS8 🎬Video gear: Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC Art Lens: https://geni.us/43RyE 90cm Octagonal Softbox: https://geni.us/tXzLg2U Motorized Camera Slider: https://geni.us/CKpHVYp Aputure Amaran 100D Light: https://geni.us/DitmF6 Aputure Amaran PT1C Tube Light: https://geni.us/zcYT Heavy Duty Light Stand with Casters: https://geni.us/W3aZy4Z RØDE VideoMic GO II Microphone: https://geni.us/3gEQb4 RØDE Wireless GO II Microphones: https://geni.us/HTWPS 🎧 Music: Epidemic Sound https://share.epidemicsound.com/cp32b6 _______________________ 00:00 Intro 00:45 Parts 01:55 Design 05:35 3D Printing 07:20 Post-processing and Finishing 09:20 Soldering 11:08 Assembly 13:53 Final Result 14:40 Outro _______________________ Affiliate links may be included in the description. I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. #raspberrypi #3dprinting #diy #retro